Top-Tier Wine and Beer Dinners to Eat and Drink
As the weather continues to shift into coldness and darkness, boozy dinners are a great way to navigate the throes of autumn in Chicago. Particularly when said dinners are curated by esteemed winemakers, breweries, and acclaimed chefs. In the coming weeks, a trio of restaurants hone in on some extraordinary liquor-themed dinners that you won’t want to miss.
The first can’t-miss wine dinner to put squarely on your radar takes place November 5 at L20. The pristine fine dining destination welcomes winemaker Alex Gambal for a special wine dinner featuring the contemporary Michelin-starred stylings of chef Matthew Kirkley. The partnership is a glamorous one, considering Gambal’s prestige in the wine industry, whose terroir-driven American wines have amassed considerable acclaim among oenophiles. The winemaker will come armed with eight incredible wines, including 2009 Alex Gambal Meursault Clos du Cromin, 2011 Alex Gambal Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, and 2008 Alex Gambal Le Chambertin Grand Cru. Kirkley will prepare a tasting menu to match with each wine, resulting in one seriously first-rate degustation.
Also taking place November 5 is the final installment in Fountainhead’s Harvest Dinner Series, wherein chef Cleetus Friedman teams up with New Holland Brewing Co. and a different regional farm to create a spectacularly seasonal tasting menu. Inspired by the wares at each farm, Friedman crafted fresh-as-can-be menus, dutifully paired with beers from New Holland or spirits selected by New Holland’s Fred Bueltmann. The menu includes sunchoke and caramelized leek pancakes paired with New Holland Full Circle; slow-roasted pork and creamy polenta with smoked apples and New Holland Cabin Fever; and ginger-rum apple pie washed down with New Holland BeerHive.
The Titanic of wine dinners takes place November 18, when mk The Restaurant hosts an impressive array of guest chefs from near and far for a Friends of the James Beard Benefit Dinner. Owner Michael Kornick is to be joined in the kitchen by culinary heavy-hitters such as Grant Achatz (Next and Alinea), Paul Kahan (One Off Hospitality), Grant MacPherson (Scotch Myst in Las Vegas), Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson (Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder), and Mindy Segal (HotChocolate). The smorgasbord of gourmet culinary creations will be adjoined by wines selected by master sommelier Ken Fredrickson. The proceeds for the dinner benefit the James Beard Foundation’s Scholarship Program for Chicago culinary students, so you can feel altruistic about your overindulgence.
L20
2300 N. Lincoln Park West, Chicago
(773) 868-0002
Website
Fountainhead
1970 W. Montrose Avenue, Chicago
(773) 697-8204
Website
mk The Restaurant
868 N. Franklin Street, Chicago
(312) 482-9179
Website
